[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68265-68266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32778]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-7-000]
ANR Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Washington County Replacement
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
December 4, 1998.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of the replacement of about 0.55 mile
of 20-inch-diameter pipeline, proposed in the Washington County
Replacement Project.\1\ The application and other supplemental filings
in this docket are available for viewing on the FERC Internet website
(www.ferc.fed.us). Click on the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from
the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions.
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\1\ ANR Pipeline Company's application was filed with the
Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of
the Commission's regulations.
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This EA will be used by the Commission in its decisionmaking
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience
and necessity.
If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities.
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with
state law. A fact sheet addressing a number of typically asked
questions, including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this
notice as appendix 1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888
First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1371.
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this
notice in the mail.
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Summary of the Proposed Project
ANR Pipeline Company (ANR) seeks authority to:
Abandoned and remove 0.6 mile of 20-inch-diameter pipeline
(Line 1-301);
Install in the same trench about 0.6 mile of 20-inch-
diameter replacement pipeline, using the existing right-of-way (ROW)
plus 25 feet on the western edge as part of the construction work area;
Use, as temporary staging areas, 1.1 acres of land located
outside the existing ROW;
Extend Ash Road about 100 feet in an easterly direction
for ROW access; and
Use about 2.5 acres of its Germantown Compressor Station
site as a contractor yard.
Line 1-301 was installed in 1956 as a loop to Line 301, a 14-inch-
diameter pipeline. The recent and ongoing construction of Brookstone
Crossing, a residential development, has increased the population
density along a segment of Line 1-301. Consequently, ANR must upgrade
this segment from a Class 2 to Class 3 pipeline to maintain compliance
with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulations.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2. The
proposed construction area would start about 820 feet south of Sherman
Road and extend northward to Ash Drive. If you are interested in
obtaining procedural information, please write to the Secretary of the
Commission.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 9.4
acres of land. In addition, a 2.5-acre pipeyard would be used. No new
permanent ROW would be acquired. All temporary construction areas would
be allowed to revert to their former use.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us
to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals.
We call this ``scoping''. The main goal of the scoping process is to
focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By
this Notice of Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the
scope of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received
are considered during the preparation of the EA. State and local
government representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents
of this proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of
concern.
The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general
headings:
Geology and soils
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
Vegetation and wildlife
Endangered and threatened species
Land use
Cultural resources
Public Safety
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be
published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners,
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make
our recommendations to the Commission.
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the public participation section on page 4 of this
notice.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified some issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by ANR. This preliminary list of
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
The crossing of Cedar Creek could potentially impact rare
fish and mussel species.
Construction may affect a residential area.
[[Page 68266]]
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the proposal
and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific
your comments, the more useful they will be. Please carefully follow
these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time
and properly recorded:
Send two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2
Reference Docket No. CP99-007-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before January 4, 1999.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors.
Likewise, each intervenor must provide 14 copies of its filings to the
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If
you want to become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene
according to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see appendix 3). Only intervenors have the
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental
comments considered. Additional information about the proposed project
is available from Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External
Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us)
using the ``RIMS'' link to information in this docket number. For
assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at
(202) 208-2222.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-32778 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
